As you can see Krissy is doing well - I always feel my day is ok when I see him :) thank you for the awesome comments and questions, every one is read and appreciated.
@s4sayer yes indeed - I admit I always go looking for him first, then I begin the loop of the entire property :) I haven't found him every single day since he was released back home, and the few days I couldn't find him I spent a lot of time searching in frustration ... probably I simply couldn't find him, rather than he wasn't here as he is moving in a particular pattern I can now see.
he is a part of 365 indeed :)
@sugarmuser thank you - I think his history happened before you started following - he developed chlamydial conjunctivitis last Nov, and I had to catch him and take him into our care centre (where I volunteer) and we successfully treated the infection and he came back home mid December. Hence the tag in his left ear - all koalas that go into care are tagged and microchipped before release.
So every time I see those beautiful bright, clear eyes, I am thrilled!
@ubobohobo there are a few ways to catch a koala, it depends on a few things. Krissy was in a fairly young tree, only about 8 metres tall. In these cases we normally 'flag' the koala down. This involves an extendable pole with a plastic bag tied to the top - nice and noisy when you shake it about. You have to get that 'flag' above the koala and hope it will not like it and come down the tree. (no we don't knock it out of the tree with the flag lol)
Then your second person is waiting with another pole with pool net on the end. You put the net over the koala to help prevent it racing back up the tree - quite a tricky task on a round tree, especially a narrow trunk. Finally with thick gloves and towel you take hold of the koala, from behind, by the upper arms, and holding your tongue just right, manage to pluck it from the tree without being bitten and scratched and into a cage.
Krissy didn't think the flag was any problem at all, he would just bat it away with his hand and ignore. In the end, we looped some rope around the tree, and slowly bent the young tree down to the ground. Krissy had quite an indignant expression as he was outsmarted. We then plucked him from the now horizontal trunk and he only bit once, so not too much human blood was shed.
If we can't flag a koala, and they are in a tree that is not touching other trees we can set a trap.
he is a part of 365 indeed :)
So every time I see those beautiful bright, clear eyes, I am thrilled!
Then your second person is waiting with another pole with pool net on the end. You put the net over the koala to help prevent it racing back up the tree - quite a tricky task on a round tree, especially a narrow trunk. Finally with thick gloves and towel you take hold of the koala, from behind, by the upper arms, and holding your tongue just right, manage to pluck it from the tree without being bitten and scratched and into a cage.
Krissy didn't think the flag was any problem at all, he would just bat it away with his hand and ignore. In the end, we looped some rope around the tree, and slowly bent the young tree down to the ground. Krissy had quite an indignant expression as he was outsmarted. We then plucked him from the now horizontal trunk and he only bit once, so not too much human blood was shed.
If we can't flag a koala, and they are in a tree that is not touching other trees we can set a trap.